Phonograph



,April 111939. w. H. Hun-ER I PHONOGRAPH Filedr Jah. 25, 19,57

Patented pr. 11, 1939 j UNITED STATES PATENT oFFicE 2.154,09?.Iv l

PnoNoGRArn William H. Hutter, Chicago, Ill., assignor, by mesneassignments, to Rock-01a Manufacturing Corporation, Chicago, Ill., acorporation of Delaware Application Januaryl z5, 19st, `serial No.122,153

4 Claims. This invention relates to i improvements in phonographs andmore particularly to improvedV mounting means for the playing armsthereof.

Multi-record phonographs of, for example, the selecting type, areemployed in business establishments for the entertainment of guests.Under those conditions, they are frequently subjected to vibrationswhich aretransmitted to the styluses or the needles of the machines and,therefrom im through intervening mechanisms or circuits, t

the soundvamplifiers thereby impairing the quality of the reproduction.It is an object of the present invention to provide mounting means forplayingarms o phonographs which, while afl fording the necessaryhorizontal swinging movement .of the arms during the playing of therecords and the pivotal movement of thearms to facilitate changingneedles, insulates the arms from vibrations generated by the mechanismsof the Vmachines as well as extraneous vibrations transmitted to themachines,` and thereby avoid the transmission to the needle of suchforeign vibrations as impair the quality'of the reproduc-A tion. .IAnother object of the invention is to provide muting means, preferablycarried `by the playing arm,"for preventing thek reproduction of noisesor sounds such as amplifier hums during intervals when no record is inlplaying position on the turntable.

Figure 1 is .a perspective'view of a. multi-recordl phonograph, thepresent improved mounting means for the playing arms being embodiedtherein; Figure 2 is an enlarged, broken, detached perspective view of aplaying arm and associated improved mounting means; l

Figure 3is 'a vertical sectional view taken on line 3-3 of Figure 2; and

Figure 4 is a horizontal section taken on line 4-4 of Figure 3.

In the drawing, I0 indicates generally a multirecord phonograph of therecord-selecting type and is provided with a turntable `I I for rotatingthe records during the playing thereof. In Figure 1 of the drawing aplurality of record carriers I2 are shown which, by suitably drivenmechanism, are movable selectively to cooperate with the turntable inpositioning their respective u records in playing position. Machinesofthe type mentioned generally are provided with coin control mechanism,such as is indicated at I3, and buttons or other selector control meansI4 whereby a patron may deposit one or more coins and press acorresponding number of buttons I4 5 to effect the playing in successionof the selected records.

Disposed in operative position with respect to the turntable is aplaying arm I5 shown in detail in Figure 2. The forward ends oftheplaying 10 for converting the Vibrations. imparted by the record to thestylus or needle I8 into electrical 20 impulses which, by means ofsuitable conductors I9, are transmitted to the amplifier of the machine,not shown. The'playing arm I5 adjacent the rear end is'so mounted thatit swings horizontally to enable the stylus I8 to follow the sound 25grooves or tracks of the record being played and can also be moved abouta horizontal pivot for a. purpose to be more fully described presently.

The form of mounting means selected for the --purpose of illustratingthe invention comprises a 30 'hollow spindle ory shaft 2l),A to theupper end of which is attached a bracket 2l that is provided withopposite upstanding arms 22. In this embodiment of the invention,horizontally disposed pivot pins 23 are threadedly received in openings35 in the arms 22 for .adjustment with reference to retainermembers 24and may be releasably locked in an adjusted position by suitable meansillustrated at 25 in Fig. 3. Interposedbetween each retainingmember 24and a side wallof playing 40 arm I5 is a vibration absorbing orinsulating member 26. .The insulating members 'are of. any suitablecushioning material, such as rubber for example, and in the form shownare of blocklike shape. 'I'he members 26 are seated at their 45 outerends in the retainer members 24 and at their inner ends in cooperatingretainer members I 21, attached to or formed integrally with thev'ertical side walls of the playing arm I5.

The upper ends of the arm 22, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, may beconnected, if desirable, by a yoke 28 to support the upper ends of thearms against outward displacement as the pivot screws 23 are adjusted.

. The members 26 are of such size that they ade- 55 quately sustain theplaying arm, but being of cushioning or vibration absorbing material,they provide in eEect a floating support which insulates the playing armand needle from vibrations set up in, or transmitted to, the shaft 2,0by the mechanism of the machine and such vibrations as may be' impartedthereto from extraatneousv The insulation of the playing arm from.

sources. such vibrations, which' would otherwise, to-some extent, beimpartedto the stylus.` I8 and thus detrimentally aifect therecord-imparted vibratory movements of the stylus, improves the qualityof reproduction of the instrument.`

Multi-record phonographs are frequently operated to reproduce asuccession of records. During the changing of the records, the amplifierand speaker in such a phonograph remain ener 'gized for reproduction o fsound as soon as the needleis engaged by the record to be played. Inorder "to mute the pick-up device I1 and to prevent amplifier hum duringthe changing from one record to another or just prior to the playing ofa record after the phonograph has been turned on, the bracket 2l isprovided with a contact carrying member 29 carrying an electo thebracket vand. hence to the phonograph chassis. Cooperating with thatgrounded contact 30 is an electrical contact 3I on a resilient contactcarrying member 32 having a mounting iiange 33secured by suitable means34 tothe playing arm I5 and electrically insulated therefrom by suitableinsulation 35. That contact carrying member 32 is electrically connectedto one of the conductors IB as shown at 345 in Fig. 2,'and is operablebythe playing arm I5 to move the contact SI into engagement with thegrounded contact 30 upon the completion of the .playing of a record andto maintain the engagement until the next record is brought to playingengagement with the needle I8. Thus the pick-up device I1 is grounded orshort-circuited during idle periods. table II is of the reciprocabletype Aand in the playing position, the record on the turntable isbrought up to engagement with the needle I8 and continues its upwardmovement to swing the playing arm I5 about the pivot pins 23 a distancesuicient to open the contacts 30 and 3i. After playing, the turntablebearing the played record is lowered, whereupon the playing arm swingsdownwardly about its pivot pins 23 closing the contacts 30 and 3I toground the y pick-up until the next record is brought to playingengagement therewith. It will thus be seen that during the changing ofrecords vand other,

As illustrated in Fig. 1, the turn- While `I have disclosed anembodiment of my improvements for the purpose of illustration.

it-will b e apparent that various changes of conv struction andarrangement 0f parts llly be I8- i sortedto 'without departing from lthespirit .of

the invention as defined by the appended claims.

I claim: A A

1. In a phonograph, a playing arm, mounting means therefor comprising apair of supporting members disposed on opposite sides of said arm,

4a pair of socket members attached ltosaid supporting members, a secondpair of socket members attached to the sides of said arm adjacent saidsupporting members and spaced from said rst pair of socket members, onepair of said socket members being pivotally mounted, and

vibration insulating members each extending between and engaged at theends thereof only by the respective socket members'and being mutuallycapable of supporting said arm in operative position. i

2. The combination with a playing arm of a phonograph. of horizontallyswingable mountl ing means therefor, and means for securing said arm tosaid mounting means for pivotal movement with respect theretocomprisinga pair of pivot members spaced laterally of said arm and resilientmembers of vibration absorbing mateportions of said insulating means tosaid arm and swingable member comprising spaced retainer members for Isaid portions.

' 4. 'I'he combination with a playing arm of a phonograph comprising-.amember swingable on a vertical axis and having a pair of verticalsupporting members spaced laterally of 4each side of a rear portion ofsaid arm and means interposed between the sides of said arm and therespective vertical supporting members for pivotally attaching lthe armto said supports for movement ona horizontal laxis comprising a' pair ofvibration insulating members each provided with retainer members at theendsthereof, the retainer members of each insulating member being spacedapart-by unconned intermediate'portions of the'respective Vinsulatingmembers whereby the transmission of said vibrations from said supportingmembers to said arm are inhibited.

